August | 2017 | Posting Family Roots

Subtitle: Where are my grandparents buried?

Subtitle: Don’t trust everything you read on the Web.

My husband and I have just returned from a 6-day trip to northeastern Pennsylvania, where my dad was born and raised. We attended a family reunion, visited my 90+ year-old aunt and some cousins (including cousins found through DNA matches), searched records at county courthouses and historical societies and tramped 14 cemeteries in search of family members. This story is about the cemetery/cemeteries where my grandparents, John Ray Posten & Jennie Amelia Richards, are buried.

Cemeteries? Yes, because online reports have placed John and Jennie’s final earthly resting place in three– yes, 3 — different cemeteries. I needed to see for myself. The first discrepancy was found several years ago. On a cemetery locator website, John and Jennie were listed as being buried in Pittston, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania. I didn’t think too much about it, except that my grandfather’s name was listed as John W. Posten – his name was John Ray Posten. I thought it might have been a typographical error or that the person didn’t know my grandfather’s middle name. I didn’t have a copy of my grandfather’s death certificate, so I requested it from the state of Pennsylvania. John Ray Posten’s death certificate doesn’t give the name of the cemetery but does list his burial location as Falls, Wyoming county.

Jennie’s death certificate and her obituary were already in my files. According to those records, she was buried in Roberts Cemetery, Falls, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania. I spoke to my aunt, who confirmed that John & Jennie are buried in Roberts Cemetery. I contacted the person who had posted on the Pittston cemetery online site, explaining the issue. He was very gracious, agreeing that a different John Posten was buried in Pittston and corrected the entry. There were no pictures of John and Jennie’s tombstone. I knew that there was a tombstone because my parents helped pay for one after Jennie died in 1964. John died in 1948, before I was born.

Several months ago, I was again searching for relatives using an online grave search website. This time, John and Jennie were listed as being buried in Settee Cemetery, Falls, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania. Still no gravestone picture. Well, at least, the town and county are consistent! I reviewed records and notes again. Had I recorded the information correctly? Yes, information on the documents pointed to Roberts Cemetery, Falls, Wyoming county, Pennsylvania. But, the mystery remained. And, with no gravestone picture, how could I be certain? Another consideration is that the name of Roberts Cemetery had changed to Settee Cemetery.

An annual family reunion of Jennie’s mother’s family (LaCoe) was another reason for this trip. I have wanted to go for several years but work and family schedules just didn’t seem to coincide with the reunion date. 2017 is finally the year that we will attend this reunion! And, I can find and photograph my grandparents’ grave!

The day after the reunion, we set out to find Roberts Cemetery. Iphone location finder led us to a small, unnamed cemetery near Falls, Wyoming county. No grave for John & Jennie there. Did we have the wrong cemetery? We stopped at a nearby business to ask. The man only knew of the cemetery that we had just visited. About a half mile down the road, an older woman was working in her flower bed. We stopped and asked her. Yes, she knew Roberts Cemetery and gave us directions.

Following her directions, we found another cemetery, also unnamed, which we almost passed by. There are two sections. One section consists of about a dozen gravestones for persons from the Fitch family. I remembered seeing information online that several Fitch graves had been moved from their original location to Roberts Cemetery. Cemetery found!! Roberts Cemetery is on the opposite of the Susquehanna River than the first cemetery. Roberts Cemetery is on Sand Plant Road not Old State Road. Both roads are off State Highway 92. Now, to find John & Jennie’s grave! (Photo from http://www.mapquest.com)

Cemetery maps

There are only about 200 graves in the Roberts Cemetery, so it did not take long to find John & Jennie’s grave. Mystery solved! I began crying as I related the story to my grandparents. John died before I was born and we had visited Pennsylvania irregularly during my childhood so I didn’t know Jennie (aka Grandma Posten) very well.

Susan Posten Ellerbee with grave marker for her grandparents, John R. Posten & Jennie Richards Posten. Roberts Cemetery, Falls, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. Photo taken August 14, 2017.

One more mystery still needs to be solved. Why are they also listed in ‘Settee Cemetery’? Recheck online sources. Apparently, Roberts Cemetery may also be known as Settee Cemetery and/or Swartout Cemetery. To-do list:

Post pictures of John & Jennie’s gravestone to Roberts Cemetery website with notes about the reported discrepancies and actual directions/ location of Roberts Cemetery- DONE.
Contact person responsible for Settee Cemetery and ask about the cemetery names – DONE. UPDATE: She was also gracious and removed John and Jennie’s names from the Settee Cemetery list.

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Reflection:

This was a very emotional trip for many reasons. Actually locating and seeing my grandparents’ grave was a tearful reunion. I am proud that I was able to solve this particular mystery for myself and others. We learned more about what to do and not do during a genealogy-based vacation. Future blog posts will chronicle more of our experiences during this trip.

What helped: technology, specifically Iphone location finder and a small computer with my family tree. My husband’s patience and acting as official photographer. Advance planning, such as printing an alphabetical list of cemeteries to be visited with a list of people buried in each.

What didn’t help: IPhone location finder taking us to the wrong cemetery, although the location was the one in the online system. Online address for Roberts Cemetery was not correct. Conflicting information posted online.

What I learned: Don’t be afraid to ask for help and directions. I tend to be independent and will usually try to figure things out on my own. We met some awesome people, including cemetery managers, who were very helpful in locating graves. Don’t believe everything you see on the Web– check it out for yourself! Use water, a squirt bottle and a soft brush to clean dirt and moss from gravestones.

Last month, a cousin asked for help to answer some questions. I temporarily set aside the tasks that I had planned as part of the Genealogy Do-Over. Was I following a BSO (bright shining object)? It seemed so although I did use some of my improved research skills. Each BSO has led me to a different branch of dad’s family—branches that I would probably not have explored, such as the great-granddaughter of one of my great-aunts. I realized that I was also building my research toolbox, a topic for Month 5 of the Genealogy Do-Over .

It all started with DNA. I submitted my DNA sample last year and finally convinced my brother to submit his earlier this year. We used different companies so we are both submitting samples again. I looked quickly at the DNA relatives and only contacted those whose name I recognized. Fortunately, a second cousin contacted me as a result of DNA matches and finding my online family tree with a common surname. We share the same great –grandparents. She knew very little about our common line, her grandmother’s family, which is also my grandfather’s family. I knew little about her grandmother and she answered questions for me. Her son also has the genealogy bug.

Both my second cousin and her son have sent in their DNA. He is very curious about all of those DNA relatives – exactly how are we related to this person? Figuring out your ‘cousinship’ is easy when you already know your common ancestors – use a relationship chart. Here is one that is commonly used:

My DNA-match 2nd cousin knew the names of her grandparents. Her grandmother was my grandfather’s sister. So, establishing the common ancestor was relatively (pardon the pun!) easy.

Other examples of relationship charts:

Relationship chart – another format

Relationship chart format #3

What is more difficult is identifying your possible common ancestor for that third cousin identified as a DNA match to you when you aren’t sure about the names of the other person’s ancestors. There are at least 16 possibilities (from both your mother and father)! In essence, you have to look at the relationship chart in a different way. If this person and I are 3^rd cousins, then who might be our common ancestor?

My 2^nd cousin and I have an already established a relationship through our great-grandparents. So, the list narrowed as we only looked at DNA matches who are related to both of us. Now, there are only four possibilities as a common ancestor – our common great-great grandparents, James, Meriam, Samuel or Charlotte.

Her son’s curiousity about those DNA matches led to the BSOs that took up much of my time during one two week period. Another person, who inherited work done by cousin on a related family line, has been extremely helpful. She used an extensive research toolbox to determine how we are related to one person, identified as a third or fourth cousin DNA match. Her search strategy included social media as well as the usual census records, obituaries, and gravesites. I admire her tenacity and thoroughness!

End of story: Two more cousins have been positively identified through DNA matches. Our common ancestors have been identified. All of the information is clipped together and has been entered to genealogy software and research logs.

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Reflection: I experienced a mix of emotions during those two weeks. Initial response was frustration because I did not meet my specific objectives. Instead, I helped a cousin discover how we are related to two DNA matches. At first, I considered these projects as BSOs since the work was not planned. However, I chose to tackle those projects instead of keeping with my original plan. I met another person with marvelous detective skills. I can learn from her. Using research logs and making sure that I have complete source citations was helpful. I worked slower on these projects than I have in the past, due to improved research practices.

What helped: Research logs that had been done earlier. Starting new research logs. Checking and re-checking source citations. Label and file digital media as I found it online.

What didn’t help: Not being sure that this was a good use of my time. I had to acknowledge that I chose to work on these projects at this time. I could have deferred and waited for reports from others.

What I learned: Collaboration with others is key to discovering the relationships and avoiding duplication of work. Say ‘no’ to some projects, no matter how interesting they seem. However, these projects can still become learning tools. I learned a different way of using a relationship chart to determine a possible common ancestor. This leads me to the concept of a ‘flipped’ relationship chart. Here is first draft of my idea, for your consideration: flipped chart draft1 Happy searching!